Nature Reserves

China’s first nature reserve, established in 1956, was the Dinghu Mountain Nature Reserve in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province. By the end of 2007, there were 2,531 nature reserves of various kinds established throughout the country, accounting for 15% of the country’s territory, of which 303 are state-level nature reserves. Protected through these nature reserves are 88% of China’s land eco-systems, 87% of its wildlife population, 65% of its higher plant communities, nearly 20% of its natural forests, 50% of its marshlands and wetlands, the main habitats of more than 300 precious and endangered wild animal species, and major distribution areas for over 130 precious tree varieties.

Established in August 2000, the Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve has the greatest concentration of bio-diversity of all of China’s nature reserves. Covering an area of 31.6 million ha and with an average elevation of 4,000 m, it is also the largest and highest nature reserve. It is located in the central Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, at the source of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers (hence the name of the reserve, Sanjiangyuan, which literally means sources of three rivers). State-level investment of 220 million yuan has been ploughed into the Sanjiangyuan protection project, which started in 2003.

Guangdong Province has 294 nature reserves, leading the whole country, totaling 3.44 million ha in area. Wolong and Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan, Changbaishan Mountain in Jilin, Dinghushan Mountain in Guangdong and Baishui River in Gansu are among the nature reserves that have been listed by UNESCO as “World Biosphere Reserves.”